Unfinished Stories
by SomethingStronger
Summary: A collection of unrelated Connie and Chip mini-fanfics because some stories aren't meant to be finished. [Bristen fanfic]
1. Better Than Me

**Disclaimer:** These stories are completely fictional. Furthermore, I do not own rights to Nashville, Deacon Claybourne, Rayna Jaymes, Connie Britton or Chip Esten.

 _Author's Note: With finishing up college, I haven't had time to write full length fics so I hope you all enjoy this collection of angsty mini-fics that I like to write at 3 am. Each chapter will be different and not related to the other._

"So...was she better than me?"

"What?" Chip questioned.

"Today," Connie clarified simply.

"Wait, how did you know that was today?"

"I may have a little birdy on set who sends me pictures of the script..."

"It's Clare, isn't it?"

"It may be Clare. It may not be Clare. Y'all aren't the only friends I still have on set."

Friend. It stung. He laughed it off.

"It seems to me like you're spying on me," he said with a laugh.

"It seems to me like you're trying not to answer my question."

He looked in her eyes. A look so sincere it alone answered every question she had.

"No, she's not. Not even close."

That's what she needed to hear. What she needed to believe.

"I hate it y'know?" he asked.

"What?"

"That it can't be us anymore."


	2. The List

_Author's Note: Inspired by Friends Season 3 Episode 5 and their freebie lists of celebrities they're allowed to sleep with._

He had liked her before he had ever met her. Watched her weekly on TV as Tami Taylor. Loved her smile and the way her hair always seemed to cascade down so perfectly. How she held herself with such confidence and grace. What he wouldn't have given to be Eric Taylor. He made comments about the show too enthusiastically at times. Comments about their chemistry but wanting to make comments about her. His wife laughed, joked he could add her to his list. She could be one of his free passes if they ever crossed paths, knowing the odds of that were slim to none. Connie was A-list and he'd never reach that status, they both knew it.

Yet here he sat a few years later, just cast on a new show called 'Nashville', staring at the roster Callie had just given him. "Deacon Claybourne: Charles Esten," "Rayna Jaymes: Connie Britton". He blinked once then twice followed by several times, convinced he was dreaming. He looked around the room before looking back down at the paper. He wasn't dreaming, he had just been cast to play opposite Connie Britton for the course of the first season at least. Maybe more if he was lucky. Hell, what was he thinking? Even one season with her was better than if he had won the lottery. That's when he remembered his wife's comment, his list. He felt wrong for even contemplating it but he also couldn't quite shake the thought of Connie's lips on his in a personal and not professional capacity. Now was his chance and he sure as hell wasn't going to miss it.


	3. The Future Not Held

_Author's Note: This one is set during the filming of Deyna's wedding because it's absolutely heartbreaking to watch from a Bristen love triangle perspective._

Guilty. He felt guilty in all the ways a man who loved two women could feel. He spoke his lines and vowed his life to her as he cemented her place on a shelf never truly to be given full priority.

What hurt the worst, was the tears in her eyes. They weren't happy ones.

He knew the difference by now after all of the knock-down-drag-outs they had over the course of the last few months.

She didn't want to be a part of this and yet she couldn't quite stop herself from calling at 3 am when all she could think about was him and all the ways he loved her.

Now here they stood, Chip clad in Deacon's suit and Connie donning Rayna's wedding dress. The one outfit she could never wear with him in any other capacity. It felt like some sick joke the universe was playing. Trying to see how far they could be pushed before they absolutely broke.

He wanted to hold her and apologize. Wanted to tell her she was right and they should move on, that it had to end at some point and should be now.

More than that, he wanted to give her what she deserved.

What she said she didn't need or want but what they both knew she prayed for at night. He wanted to leave for her.

The guilt he felt now almost beat the first time he had ever been the cause of her tears. He had accepted full responsibility back then. Since, he had just found ways to blame her when he knew the day he met her he had already destroyed them and had no one to blame but himself for whatever kind of future they held.


	4. Of All the Lasts

_**Author's Note:** This is how I imagine one of their many breakups taking place early in their relationship. By the way, this is pure Bristen fiction. If you do not like stories of this nature please don't read. I'm really not trying to offend anyone. Thank all of you for the lovely reviews!_

"I can't do this anymore."

"What?" Chip's voice is barely above a whisper because he knows what she means and wants her to say it so his mind can accept what his heart already knows.

"This..." She says it through a cracked voice and tear stained cheeks. "...us."

"You don't mean that." It comes out angrier than he anticipates and he cringes at the thought of hurting her more than he already has.

She can't bring herself to reply immediately at the fear of the dam holding back all of her uncontrollable tears breaking and him seeing the real aftermath of what they had done. What he had put her through these last few months.

He wants to grab her, hold her, tell her everything is fine but they both know it isn't and the last thing she wants is for him to touch her right now. It's also the only thing she wants but she knows it will only make this more difficult.

Connie takes a deep breath before responding. "I don't."

"You don't what, baby?"

"I don't mean that. I don't mean any of this but I can't anymore. We can't."

"We don't have to." He assures her. He doesn't know what else to say to make the tears stop.

She nods in acknowledgement, tears still streaming down her face as she wipes them away. "I'm sorry. I thought I could. I really thought I could." The words she isn't saying are what they already know.

She thought she could do a no strings attached thing with him. Be okay with him leaving her at the end of the day. She isn't. The longer they keep this up the harder it's becoming for them both.

"No, I'm sorry. For everything."

He had been the one to pursue her. He had kissed her first. Bridged the gap between fiction and reality. Pushed it until they finally broke. She knew the consequences and she welcomed them. She claimed she wasn't scared but what he said last night terrified her. " _I'll leave."_ That's the last thing she wanted. She wasn't a homewrecker.

"You can't leave for me".

"Is that what this is about? Wouldn't that be a good thing?" He didn't understand.

"Dammit, Chip! Don't you see that there isn't anything good about any of this?"

As soon as the words leave her mouth she knows they're a lie. The way he made her feel when she didn't feel like this was good. The way his hands felt on her body was good. The way his mouth...the way he loved her... In the end though, the circumstances couldn't have been worse.

She sometimes wondered what it would have been like had they met when they were younger before commitment had been a question. Sometimes she wondered what it would have been like to never know him at all. And sometimes, only sometimes, did she let her mind wonder about what it would be like if he left for her.

"I don't know what else to do. What do you want from me?"

"Not this." Her words are steady, she had somehow finally ran out of tears. "I don't want anything you can give me. I don't want to never get all of you and I don't want you to leave for me."

His voice lowers and she can swear she's never seen such fear in his eyes. "Where does that leave us?"

That's the question she'd asked herself every night he went home. Every day after set. After every kiss, look and touch. She never liked the answer but now was the time to face it.

She places her hand on his and looks in his eyes. "Here for the last time."


	5. Flirting with Forever

_Author's Note: If Bristen stories offend you please don't read them. Thank you all for the reviews and support for this collection. I know some of you asked and I will be writing some little snippets regarding Connie being at the wrap party & filming this past week whenever I get a chance. As for now here's some really short old ones I hadn't posted. Hope you like them!_

She begged him to stay less times than he offered. She always protectively kept one foot halfway out of the door when it came to the idea of either one of them staying.

They discussed it at the beginning. It was a one time thing.

That's what they told themselves until the fifth time, that's when they both knew they were in trouble.

That's the first time he wanted to stay. He had some sort of lame line come the next morning to explain his absence and she never understood how but his wife bought it.

That's when she first contemplated if all of this wasn't as complicated as it seemed, she didn't let the question dawn on her too long though. They flirted with the idea of a one day forever but it was never truly in their plans.

Her stomach sunk every time she saw the regret in his eyes as he debated whether to leave her bed yet she still pushed him out of it, kissed him as she watched him leave.

She knew there would come a time to have a serious conversation about the roulette they were playing but that morning wasn't the day.


	6. A Ring & Reminder

**Disclaimer:** This is pure fiction and not meant to be perceived as real in any way.

Connie told herself it would never get this far. She'd never be a man's mistress.

The ring was the first thing she noticed when he walked through the door on the very first day. She made mental note of it as she also took note that Chip was just about the sexiest thing she'd ever seen.

She kept her thoughts to herself but she could tell he was into her. He couldn't deny it if he tried.

He told her, "there were a million reasons I want to do this and a couple hundred of them were you. He declared his love for Friday night lights. He had watched her, knew her before he actually did. She sensed that sometimes but she didn't let it go to her head.

She stayed casual but she let him fight for her because she never expected he'd actually win that war. She pretended she had become desensitized to the signs but in reality they ate away at the guilt until there was none left at all, just his hands on her body and her lips on his as her back hit the sofa in his dressing room.

Some nights she wondered if he'd ever leave for her. Other nights she was satisfied with the present. She told herself she didn't need a ring on her finger to feel loved because his eyes told her more than anything engraved on a band.

She didn't even make him take it off when they were together, she liked the cool metal pressed into her back when he grabbed her roughly as his hands exploded her body, right before he'd lift her up and set her on the bed. It was a reminder of broken promises and the fact she was protecting herself by not getting too attached. A reminder that as much as this decision broke her, anything else would only break her more.


End file.
